(DEAL PARK, NJ) -- The Axelrod Performing Arts Center (APAC) pays it forward with the newly formed APAC Players. “Investing in youth is investing in our future, and without the arts, we simply have no future,” says APAC Artistic Director Andrew DePrisco. “That may sound a little dramatic, but it’s all about creating possibilities for young people: to learn about theater, to grow in the arts.”
The APAC Players is a mentor program begun at APAC this past fall. It is a unique ensemble made up only of teenagers. The director, choreographer, designers, stage manager and, of course, the cast are all high school students. Each student on the creative team is assigned a theater professional as a mentor, which allows the participants to learn theater from local members of Actors’ Equity as well as the award-winning production team at the Axelrod led by DePrisco.
Adding to the uniqueness, the first production of the APAC Players is a musical that no high school or community theater in the area has attempted. “Runaways,” a rock-pop musical about misunderstood, abused, confused urban kids who ran away from home, is the groundbreaking work of playwright, director, composer, poet and author Elizabeth Swados.
“A mentorship program producing a musical by Swados is poetic in many ways. And timely in that Swados just passed away a year ago. She herself was mentored by the great Joe Papp, and she dedicated much of her career to creating original theater with teenagers,” says DePrisco, who brainstormed the program concept with CEO Jess Levy and Ranney School junior Carmine Mastrokostas.
Swados developed “Runaways” for Papp’s Public Theater in New York, working directly with inner city kids who had run away from home. Some of the performers in the original 1978 production lived with Swados and shared their stories to help create the show. Swados wrote in “At Play,” her book about creating theater programs for teenagers, “‘Runaways’ made it to Broadway and showed American kids that theater could be young and personal. After that success, I decided to devote much of my career to creating pieces and possibilities for kids in theater.”
“Education is a huge focus for us at the Axelrod, and Swados was a visionary and a pioneer in the field. We hosted her at the theater some years ago,” says Levy, “I’ve been a fan of her work and the musical ‘Runaways’ for a long time. We’re happy to have Carmine involved with this first production. As a freshman and sophomore, Carmine performed in a few shows here at the Axelrod and impressed everyone with his natural talent and professionalism.” Levy says it wasn’t difficult choosing Carmine for the program. “He’s motivated, focused and dedicated to pursuing a career in the performing arts. In other words, the perfect candidate to be the first director for the APAC Players.”
As director, Carmine is working with Equity member Jarrod Scott as his mentor as well as Bob Angelini (also an Equity actor) as co-producer. Each of the students working on the production has an APAC creative team member guiding them through the process.
“Directing and choreographing ‘Runaways’ has been the greatest experience of my life,” begins Carmine, “Axelrod's efforts to enrich the talent in youth performers is evident in our new program. This production looks at lives of teenagers who have run away from their families, themselves and life. This cast consists of some of the most dynamic and talented high school students in the area and it’s been my great pleasure working with them to bring ‘Runaways’ to life. There is nothing like this production that I have ever been involved with before.”
“Runaways” will be presented by the APAC Players on February 10, 11 and 12, 2017 at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center (100 Grant Avenue, Deal Park) with a live student band. Tickets ($18 students; $24 adults) can be purchased online at www.axelrodartscenter.com or by calling the box office, ext 14, at 732-531-9106.
